sighhh;waiting for the weather again....

High seas and winds continue to keep our intrepid crew tied to the dock! (does two constitute crew? hmmm) System after system has been blowing onto the coast here, and we have been "holed" up in Astoria, an historical fishing village at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. Sooo, as they say, when you get handed lemons; make lemonade!!

We rented a car, took Josh back to the Port Angeles ferry as he only had a few days to spend with us. With the weather forecasts so dismal, we decided he might as well return home and perhaps join us another time. A few days later, we went to Tacoma and picked up our vehicle. Nice to have wheels.

We have been doing alot of upgrades to the boat. We decided to install a navigation system that can be seen from the helm in the cockpit. This way, whoever is on the helm is able to see the plotter and radar without having to leave the helm. With just the two of us to take the boat to San Franscisco, it was a necessary addition as there are times when you can't leave the wheel. We also upgraded our current electronic chart program (nobeltec) to a program called Coastal Explorer. The program was written by the same people that wrote Nobeltec and is very user friendly. It can read existing charts already on your hard drive as well as charts or information downloaded from a disc or the internet. Very cool.

We have replaced wiring, old hoses (fuel and water), installed new guages, replumbed the water system adding a pressure tank. I have started painting the foreward head. Blake has installed an inline fuel polishing system and a new transfer pump so if we get any dirty fuel we can polish it when we receive it and then pump cleaned fuel into the day tank. Good stuff!!

The good thing about doing all these chores now is that we won't have to do them when we get to the warmer weather. And it hasn't been all work. We have toured the local maritime museum (amazing), attended a jazz concert at the Liberty Theatre (built in 1925 and completely refurbished) and sussed out the local drinking hole complete with pool table, friendly locals and lots of history. The Triangle Pub has been serving it up since 1934 and they still have the trap door in the floor where fellas were actually shanghaied!!

Although I have more to write on Astoria and pictures to post, the coffee shop is closing and they are sweeping around me. (take a hint lady)

I will try to add some pictures and more "Pirate Girl" tomorrow.

Blog you all later
Cathy